1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a method and apparatus for installing wall cabinets and more particular is concerned with a mounting apparatus for facilitating the accurate placement and secure installation of cabinets on vertical walls.
2. Description of Related Prior Art
Wall mounted cabinets are widely used in home construction. Kitchens typically have a sets of overhead cabinets mounted on the walls, The kitchen cabinets are used for storage of heavy items such as dishes and canned food and accordingly should be securely fastened to the wall. The wall cabinets also have a decorative function in many applications such as in kitchens where it is important the cabinets be mounted flush and level with each other.
Considerable problems are encountered in the installation of wall mounted cabinets. Certain of the problems are the result of the standard construction of the interior walls on which the cabinets are hung. Interior walls are conventionally constructed by installing the supporting studs at regular spaced intervals such as sixteen inches on center. The studs are then covered with sheet rock, wall board, paneling or other similar materials to complete the wall. Wall cabinets on the other hand are made in a range of different widths and typically a combination of different width cabinets are used in a single installation. As a result there usually is little alignment of the cabinets with the underlying studs in the wall. It is therefore often difficult, if not impossible to secure an individual cabinets directly to a stud and obtain the required strength. The cabinets often must be secured to the relatively weak wall covering between the studs which cause a potentially dangerous situation if the cabinet become loose and fall from the wall.
A further problem is that the installation typically required several person; one person to hold the cabinet in position and one person to secure the cabinet to the wall, It also generally required a skilled professional cabinet installer in order to install the cabinets flush and level.
Various suggestion have been made to overcome the above noted problems but the suggestions heretofore made have not been satisfactory. Duggan et al in U.S. Pat. No. 2,708,147 suggested installing a ranged hanger bar on the wall. A mounting bracket having mating square channel was attached to the cabinet. To hang the cabinet, the mating channel of the mounting bracket was slid over the square extension of the hanger bar. The mounting bracket and the hanger bar then had to be locked together with a screw to prevent the cabinet from falling down. The method disclosed by Duggan et al was unsatisfactory because the ranged member spaced the cabinet from the wall which is undesirable and the hanger bar and the bracket do not safely support the cabinet unless mechanically locked together. It was also difficult for one person to install the cabinets in that the cabinet had to be held in position while inserting the locking screw from the inside of the cabinet.
Drass, U.S. Pat. No. 3,950,049, suggested the use of a combination of a support rail counter sunk in the wall on which the cabinet was to be mounted and an interlocking bracket attached to the back of cabinet to hang the cabinet on the rail. More specifically Drass teaches that the rail must be attached directly to the studs of the wall by countersinking the rail into the wall. This done by either attaching the rail first to the studs and then bring the wall covering up to the rail or by removing a section of wall covering from a completed wall to expose the studs and securing the rail in the resulting opening. The method suggested by Drass was unsatisfactory because of the problems and additional cost encountered in installing the rail prior to applying the wall covering or removal of the required wall covering from existing walls and then installing the rail.
Bruner, U.S. Pat. No. 4,342,439, disclosed a method for temporarily hanging cabinets prior to permanently fastening the cabinets by conventional methods. According to Bruner a rail of a bendable material such as sheet metal is attached to the wall on which the cabinet is to be mounted and a similar mating bracket is attached to the cabinet. The cabinet is hung on the rail and temporary held in position. The permanent fastener are then installed and tighten to draw the cabinet against the wall and collapse the temporary hanger. The Bruner method is not suitable for permanent installations in that the disclosed system will not securely hold the cabinets in place under normal conditions.
Laughon et al, U.S. Pat. No. 4,928,913, suggested the use of a rail of a specific cross section and the use of mating cutout on the end panels of a cabinet to hang the cabinet on the rail. This system is unsatisfactory in that it concentrates the entire load on the ends of the cabinet causing a potentially dangerous situation. It was suggested to reenforce the ends with inserts. The use of the inserts and the requirement that the rail go though end of the cabinet resulted in the exposed end of the cabinet being unsightly for finished applications.
What would be highly desirable would be a cabinet mounting apparatus that is can be effectively used by professional cabinet hangers and do-it-your-yourselfers working, would only require one person to install cabinets; would allow cabinets to be hung securely to a wall; level and flush with each other; and flush against a vertical sporting wall.